A grant for $23,000 will help the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority continue renovating its property in South Aberdeen with the goal of establishing a multi-use waterfront facility.
The grant, awarded by the Grays Harbor Community Foundation, will pay for a structural assessment and schematic design of the property’s building 8, which will house the organization’s spar shop and some exhibit spaces, said Les Bolton, the Seaport Authority’s executive director.
The facility as a whole, when it’s completed, will serve as a historical center and will house the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, the organization’s two tall ships. The inspections the grant will fund are a step toward getting the facility to a condition appropriate for public visits.
The Seaport Authority will match half of the funds using cash donations it’s received.
“This is a huge step for us because this is critically important, getting building 8 done,” Bolton said. “This is equipment that we use to maintain our ships, and it’s also the equipment we use to continue upgrades on site.”
Having enough shop space to do its own work, Bolton added, will allow the authority to control is costs more effectively.
The Seaport Authority acquired the property in March 2013 in a donation from the Weyerhauser Company. On 38 acres between the Chehalis River and US 101, the property was once a sawmill. Out of the 14 buildings on the site, nine have been inspected and secured, Bolton said.
Though the grant will go a long way, Bolton added that a grant for $1 million from the state will determine how quickly the renovations get done. If everything goes as planned, the authority could begin construction in late 2015 and be moved in by 2016.
“We’re going to move this forward even if we have to do it $3 at a time,” Bolton said. “It’s just going to take us longer.”
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